


Scars of the Past

by Goldstone_Wolf



Category: Love Simon (2018), Simonverse | Creekwood Series - Becky Albertalli
Genre: Boys Kissing, I don't know what else to tag, M/M, Pansexual Garrett Laughlin, Past Abuse, Some light making out, past abusive relationships, tws for:
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:40:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23989765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goldstone_Wolf/pseuds/Goldstone_Wolf
Summary: Late one night, Garrett and Cal are talking, and Cal finds out something both very interesting and very heartbreaking about his boyfriend.Because everyone knows him wrong.
Relationships: Garrett Laughlin/Cal Price
Comments: 3
Kudos: 48





	Scars of the Past

**Author's Note:**

> TWs in tags, please let me know if I missed anything. This is an idea I’ve had for a long while, so I’m finally getting it out now or else I’m going to go with the much angstier idea I usually toy with when I’m sick of the homophobic bits of my life.

It was a normal but mellow night for them, meaning being curled up on the couch in the Prices’ basement together, lazily making out and later falling asleep on top of each other.

In the several months that they had been officially dating, Cal had never pushed for anything. He wasn’t going to try and shove Garrett out of his comfort zone, which was already being stretched enough considering he was only just accepting the fact he wasn’t straight as an arrow. Sure, he made jokes all the time, but there was a different between the humour he showed and the side of him no one else got to see. The side that he’d grown up as.

Which was confusing, to say the least.

Sitting up, Cal met Garrett’s gaze and smiled softly down at him before dipping down to kiss him again. Hands cupped his face, and he pulled back just for a second to meet Garrett’s gaze again, make sure he was okay, before kissing him. Eventually, Garrett’s hands went to his hips, and Cal found his and intertwined their fingers for a split second. Then he realised something was wrong and jerked back maybe a little too quickly. “Everything okay?” Garrett asked, and Cal frowned before glancing down at where his boyfriend’s shirt had ridden up. There was a thin, raised scar there, twisting from just above his hip to down beneath his waistband.

“What happened?” He whispered, looking back up, and Garrett frowned just a little bit before following his gaze. “Garrett? Do you…did your dad do something?”

“What? No, he didn’t—” Garrett’s hand found his, and then he seemed to understand. “No, someone…that was someone else. I don’t…can we not talk about this right now? Please?” When he met Cal’s gaze, the latter sighed and then nodded. They went silent, neither moving as Cal settled onto his boyfriend so they could cuddle like they usually did. Garrett’s hands went to their usual place, falling in the small of his back and locking together to hold him close, and Cal looped his fingers under Garrett’s neck.

Whenever his parents found them, they always gave the stupid “remember to be safe” lecture. Cal consistently told them they didn’t have to be safe, that they never did anything. He wasn’t sure he was believed. He didn’t have the heart to tell Garrett about it, though.

“You know, we could probably put something on if you want. Just so that we’re not in total silence.” He whispered, lifting his head from Garrett’s chest and then nuzzling into his neck. Underneath him, Garrett took a deep, relaxed breath, then met his gaze with a sly smile.

“Why would we do that? That would mean moving.” Cal laughed and gently started kissing along Garrett’s throat, earning him a small hum. Smiling, he tilted his head up just a little bit, lips trailing along Garrett’s jaw instead. “What?”

“Just you.” His hands wandered down again, this time to Garrett’s hips, but he didn’t touch the scar. As much as he wanted to ask, he wasn’t going to push and Garrett knew he wouldn’t. When he wanted to explain, Garrett would, but now wasn’t the time for it. “Just kissing my amazing, loving, handsome, funny, absurdly hot boyfriend,” he added little kisses with every word, getting Garrett to laugh underneath him. “Come on, you know it’s true.”

“Are you just trying to get me to blush again?”

“Maybe.” Garrett ducked down and kissed him, and Cal’s hands wandered down to the sensitive skin right above his waistband in the back. When he started rubbing tiny little circles there, he felt his boyfriend gasp and shift. Breaking off the kiss, he laughed, “What? Do you like that?”

“Maybe.” The two laughed again, and then Garrett froze under Cal’s fingers. Pausing, Cal looked up and met his gaze.

“What?”

“I don’t—” Clearing his throat, he looked away. Cal knew him well enough to know something was wrong, and sat back on his heels. When Garrett looked at him, wide-eyed, he knew for sure something had happened. “You don’t need to stop, Cal. We can keep going if you want.”

Shifting away, Cal tucked his legs under him and met his boyfriend’s gaze. “Garrett, something is up. You’re not comfortable. I’m not going to push you to do something you’re not comfortable with, whether that’s just kissing and making out or…” He tilted his head to the side and made an expression, and Garrett’s eyes widened a little. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re—you’re holding back because of me?” Garrett asked, and Cal frowned and met his gaze.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because—” He made a few gestures, and Cal took his hands before gently kissing his knuckles. “You don’t have to wait for me, Cal.”

“And you don’t need to push yourself for me, Garrett.” Pausing, Cal tilted his head. “You’ve never slept with anyone, have you?” The silence was all the answer he needed. “It’s okay, Garrett, you don’t have to be embarrassed. Whether you sleep with someone or not is your choice.”

“I know, I just…” Laughing bitterly, Garrett added, “I know my reputation, Cal. People think I’m some sort of player, that I sleep with pretty much everyone. I don’t.” One of his hands, subconsciously or not, drifted to the scar on his hip, and Cal frowned a little bit. “I’ve never slept with anyone. It’s stupid, really.”

“Garrett…”

“No, I—it’s not for any…it’s not for a real reason, I just…and I can make out with people, sleeping with someone isn’t—it’s not that big a leap.” Cal watched him sympathetically (he didn’t agree with Garrett, making out and sex were two different pieces of a relationship), but didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure he could. Besides, it seemed like Garrett needed to get this out. “I should be over this by now.”

Now was Cal’s turn to talk. Not press, and certainly not shove. But asking… “Over what, Garrett?”

Garrett looked his way and paused, and Cal waited with the expression Garrett called his “I want to know but you don’t need to tell me” look. Finally, he sighed. “When I was in eighth grade, there was…there was this girl. Hailey. And anyways, I had a crush on this guy, and she knew about it, and she knew my uncle was a homophobe…” Shaking his head, he stared at the basement carpet. “She told me that unless I dated her, she was going to tell my uncle that I liked guys. And he wasn’t like the ‘oh, I don’t agree with gays’ kind of homophobe. He was…” Shaking his head, he looked away.

“She blackmailed you?”

“Yeah. And when my uncle came out and got married to his husband in freshman year, she switched tactics. She told me that she would just tell everyone at the school instead, and…” He looked away, closing his eyes. Sitting up, he swung his legs off the couch, leaning forward on his knees with his hands clutched in front of him almost like he was praying. “She was awful. We’d be at parties and she’d be grinding on someone else out on the dance floor, and then she’d turn around and say I was cheating if I talked to anyone. That’s where that scar’s from.” Cal stared at him, wide-eyed. “She dislocated my hip once.”

“What happened to her?” Cal finally choked out after silence settled over the two of them. With a bitter laugh, Garrett continued.

“Her brother came in one day and found her drunk as all get out trying to make out with me. I think he knew what was happening. The family moved pretty soon after that, and I haven’t seen or heard anything about them since.” Rubbing his shoulders, Garrett added, “Bram and I became pretty close after that.”

For a few more moments, neither spoke. Something dawned in the back of Cal’s mind. “That’s why you don’t like Nick, Abby, or Leah. Why you stuck with Simon.” With a weak smile, Garrett nodded. “You know what he went through.” Pausing, Cal waited a few moments before shuffling over and wrapping his arms around Garrett’s waist, pulling him as close as possible. “She’s never going to touch you again, okay? Not if I have anything to say about it.”

He was pretty sure Garrett smiled at that.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m going to leave this here, sorry. If this seems sort of…different, I’m tired. Don’t worry, I’m okay, and I won’t stop writing anytime soon.   
> Anyways, thanks for reading, and I hope you all have a very nice day.  
> Now, into the fray once more!


End file.
